Invites are out for a Nov. 15 event at Carlson's D.C. home, where they'll toast Abramoff's new book: Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist, which drops Nov. 1.

Quite the reception for Abramoff, especially from Carlson - who once said he'd be cheering when Abramoff and company were sent to prison, calling them "creeps" who conservatives shouldn't defend because "what they did was wrong and it violated conservative principles."

Carlson was traveling and didn't respond to TPM's specific queries about the event, but he had Daily Caller Executive Editor David Martosko pass along an email Carlson sent to staffers that pretty much answered the questions we had.

"I'm doing it because I hate pile-ons," Carlson wrote. "I can't stand to listen to one more self-righteous windbag denounce him as evil when, as anyone who lives here knows, what he did is hardly out of the ordinary for Washington.

"And in any case, unlike most of the many people here who deserve it, Abramoff actually served his time, quite a bit of it. So in a small way, I hope this party serves as a well-earned middle finger to the various breast-beaters, professional reformers and other holier-than-thou whiners who make this city less fun to live in," Carlson continued.

"This is my personal position, not necessarily that of The Daily Caller, which is not paying for the party," Carlson wrote. "Just so you know."